Mistakes Worth Making
by xMaryEllenx
Summary: She wasn't supposed to do this. She was supposed to hate him, so why didn't she? Drinny fanfic.
1. That Pompous Git

**(A/N) So as far as I know this is my first Drinny fanfic on this site. Took me long enough. Anyway, I hope you enjoy! :)**

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"What do you mean it's too dangerous for me to come?" She stood there, feet planted in the ground shoulder width apart with her hands firmly on her hips. Her fire engine hair draped over her right shoulder in a low ponytail. Her big, chocolate eyes staring up at him with as much malice as she could muster in that current moment. Ginny Weasley was angry. Not her usual stroppy-teenager-angry but fiercely annoyed. She was overwhelmed with frustration. She could feel the tears beginning to form in her eyes but she willed them not to come, not then. If they rolled down her face then she knew she'd definitely never get the chance to accompany the Golden Trio.

"You're not strong enough for this if you're crying now," they'd say.  
"You're needed here."  
"You'll be safer here."

She knew what they really wanted to say, she just didn't want to accept it. "We don't need you to come, you'd be better off here." She already knew that, she wasn't dumb. She wasn't going to pretend that the Trio would suddenly be overjoyed by her asking to go. She knew they respected her, as did she them, but she knew that they didn't think she was capable to join.

"Gin." A soft voice spoke to her, snapping her back to reality. His hand reached out for her and he gave her a sad smile. This was the boy she would never say no to. She would always gladly accept any offers he made to her and yet he didn't seem to do the same. He seemed too willing to say no to her. Others could argue that he was only looking out for her. Ginny wanted to believe that. She wanted to believe that so desperately that it hurt her but she couldn't. Not when she knew that she wasn't worthy of being the Chosen One's lover.

"Harry," she replied, changing her look of anger to one of sadness, "It's okay. You don't have to explain yourself to me. I understand."

She turned on her heels, she could feel the salty tears eager to stream out of her eyes. She needed to get out of there, she didn't like looking vulnerable at the best of times. After all, she was Ginny Weasley; the fiery red-head female of the clan, sarcastic and humorous, strong and brave. She wouldn't cry, not in front of them. It would make her look weak.

She was stopped by a hand on her shoulder. She didn't want to turn around and she knew that they weren't going to force her to. They knew that nobody could force her to do anything, there wasn't any point in trying.

"Please just listen to me. Can we talk in private?"

Ginny sighed. She wanted to say no, but she couldn't. Who was she to say no to Harry Potter, the love of her life, the Chosen One, the one everyone was relying on. "Sure."

He ushered her away from Ron and Hermione who tried to look considerate by walking in the opposite direction for a few feet - although Hermione had to half drag Ron away, he was stubborn. He wanted to keep an eye on his best friend and his sister but Hermione wouldn't let him. "Leave them to it, Ronald."

When they had gotten out of ears distance he began to speak. "Look, Gin, you mean a lot to me, you really do. That's why I don't want you coming. I don't want you to get hurt. I know how Voldemort works, I know what he'll do-."

She cut him off. "So do I, Harry! Or have you completely forgotten?"

He looked taken aback. "I remember the Chamber, Ginny, I was the one who came after you, how would I be able to forget it. Since you know how he works that should be enough for you to know why I don't want you around us!"

She couldn't hold it back anymore as a flood began. She didn't even try to hide it. "You don't want me around," she whispered. It was barely audible but loud enough so Harry would hear it. "Go."

"No, Gin, no, that's not what I meant and you know it!"

"Leave me alone, Harry. Just go. Please."

He hesitated for a moment, considering giving the crying girl a hug but he thought against it and walked back to his friends. He knew if he tried to do otherwise he could end up on the end of one of Ginny's infamous Bat-Bogey hexes and word on the street was they weren't pretty.

Ginny walked in the opposite direction. Great, crying in public, how pathetic. She almost hadn't noticed she was heading for a group of people. She almost hadn't noticed that those people didn't realise they were heading for her. She almost didn't notice platinum blonde hair poking out of the top of the crowd.

**THUMP**

She definitely didn't notice that she walked straight into someone, their books going everywhere. As she stumbled to pick all the things up while trying to avoid to stain them with tears she heard them speak.

"Watch it would you."

"I'm sorry," she said between sniffs, handing the person their books. She wiped her cheeks with her robe sleeve and looked up, taking a step back in disgust. "Oh, Malfoy, what a pleasure."

"You'd wanna mind where you're going, Weaslette," he hissed, not looking at her face.

"Me? ME! You can't just blame me, you obviously weren't looking where you were walking either!" she shouted. She lost her temper very easily. This didn't help the whole trying-not-to-cry-in-public problem as it started again, like a water fountain.

"Shut up, you blood-traitor, I-," he stopped talking when he looked down at her. A shocked expression spread upon his face. "Weasley, stop crying I didn't mean it." He tried to calm down the sobbing girl but to no avail, her sobs weren't going to silence any time soon and people were starting to stare. He sighed in annoyance as he brought the girl over to a quiet part of the hallway.

"Weasley, if I knew I was going to make you cry I wouldn't have said anything."

Ginny scoffed. "You didn't make me cry, don't flatter yourself, you pompous git."

His eyes rounded slightly in surprised, almost smashing his perfectly cold façade he had going on. "I didn't?"

She shook her head.

"Then who? You were fine before you rudely bumped into me."

"No I wasn't. God, you're such an idiot," she muttered. She didn't want to waste any more time in the presence of Mr Malfoy. In a weak attempt to go on her not-so-merry way she tried to push her way past him. This, of course, was useless as he put his hands on her shoulders and kept her from leaving the corridor.

"You're not going anyway, Weasley," he muttered. This girl was frustrating him. "Look, I'm trying to be nice, the least you can do is just let me."

"You? Nice? Don't make me laugh," she glared, although the wet eyes made her signature stare much less menacing.

"Look, I don't just go out of my way to try and help people, it's hard work. But if you want to just pathetically sob through the corridors then suit yourself."

He turned to leave. She didn't know why she did it. She didn't know what came over her but she did it anyway. She yanked on his robe causing him to turn back around and face her. The tears were coming faster now.

"Please, don't go," she whispered.

"And why not?"

She looked into his eyes. "I don't want to be alone." She sniffed.

Draco was conflicted, it would be very unlike him to stay with the sniffling Gryffindor, but it was also unlike him to associate civilly with one which he was already doing. If he was going to do anything, it may as well be now. Besides, it wasn't her he had something against, it was the Golden Trio. She was merely just a side dish to the main course he truly despised.

"Why? Why should I stay?" he asked, looking at her quizzingly.

She didn't know what to say to him. She couldn't come up with an answer to his question. All she knew was she didn't want to be in the state she was in alone. She'd rather be with Malfoy like this than be alone like this. "I don't know."

"That's what I thought," he muttered. He slid down the wall until he was sat on the floor. Ginny looked down at him.

"You're not leaving?"

"Should I?" he said, avoiding her gaze and choosing to look straight ahead at the opposite wall.

"I'd expect you to," she replied honestly. It was the truth. She did expect him to. Never would she expect a Slytherin to stay and chat with her, let alone the blonde idiot sat on the ground next to her now.

"So would I," he said. "But I'm not, so you might as well make yourself comfortable, Weasley." He patted the ground next to him, motioning her to sit down. He could sense she was weary about doing so, even without looking at her. Most people would be. Heck, even his own friends seemed weary about sitting with him. Except for Pansy. He could never get her to leave him alone if he tried. Sure, he considered her a good friend at one point and held some sort of feelings towards her, but now he couldn't be bothered being anywhere near the brunette. He just didn't care for her anymore.

Ginny, eventually, sat down next to him. She didn't want to get too close so she left a good four or five feet between them. Draco looked irritated at the distance and muttered, "I'm not going to bite you, you know."

This caused Ginny to shuffle ever so slightly to the left, not wanted to burst the personal bubbles but not wanted to leave Malfoy offended. She should be overjoyed that he actually stuck around for her, it was something that would more than likely never happen again, she should take advantage.

"Why did you stay?" she asked.

His face screwed up slightly as if he was trying to think of a reply to satisfy the redhead. "I just did, okay. I felt like it. Besides, I couldn't have you running off crying, everyone who saw you with me out there would just assume I was who made you upset."

She nodded at this, but when she realised that he wasn't looking at her she just hummed in understanding.

"So tell me, who made you this upset. It's not everyday someone sees you crying," he turned his face to her. A few small drops rolled down her cheeks but her sobs had been reduced to almost nothing by that point.

"Bloody Harry Potter," she muttered, almost incomprehensibly but he managed to decipher the irritated grumble.

He smirked. "Finally realised what he's like, eh?" He expected her to hit him, but she didn't. She didn't act violent at all. She didn't seem to react at all. The most of a reaction she gave was folding her arms across her body as if she was trying to hug herself. "What happened?"

And it was then that Ginny Weasley spilled her heart open to the person who was supposed to be her enemy. She spilled her heart to the pompous git sat next to her who, surprisingly, didn't mock or laugh like she'd imagine he would. She spilled her heart to the blonde boy in her company who didn't judge her and make snide comments. She spilled her heart to Draco Malfoy. And she didn't know why.


	2. Ginny

**(A/N) Thank you for all the kind reviews! Without further ado, here's chapter two.**

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Days went past. Then weeks. Months. And they didn't return. She was beginning to lose hope of ever seeing them again. She felt lonely, as if a piece of her was missing; and it was. She was a finished jisgaw puzzle before they left and now on the puzzle of Ginny Weasley, it appeared that there was a hole in her chest where her heart should be. She was no longer intact. She was missing a vital piece of herself. And they took it without her consent.

She found herself crying a lot. Strong Ginny Weasley was blubbering like a newborn baby for what seemed constantly. The people who stuck by her didn't know what to do for her.

Neville was sweet to her, giving her small hugs, smiles, asking if she was okay. She knew it was hard for him as well so she appreciated the kindness of his gestures.

Luna was her usual kooky self. Instead of focussing on asking if Ginny was alright, she was able to take her mind off of everyone's worries by discussing topics too weird for the normal person. And it worked every time.

She was sat the the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall. It was a half hour early for dinner yet but she wanted to be alone. The Hall never filled up until the food was practically on the table so she knew she'd be able to have some quiet time to think. She was sat smack-bang in the middle, halfway between the front of the room and the back of the room.

It was always a lot emptier now. Not many parents sent their children back that year as they were all too worried for their sons' and daughters' healths. Ginny couldn't blame them. Hogwarts wasn't what it used to be. The corridors were less packed, everyone's faces looked tired and worn, the dorms were emptier, children were less friendly. Everyone kept to themselves. The atmosphere was constantly tense. It almost felt as if the remaining students were intruding on the peace.

Ten minutes went by before she saw a group of Slytherins walk in and take their places at the table opposite her. If this was last year, or even the year before that she would have groaned and turned her head away. But now nobody seemed to care about houses or pride, they were all in the same boat; scared out of their minds trying to just get by.

She felt eyes on her, she scanned the room. _Nope, nope, nope, nope, n-yes. _That was when she saw the same blonde she told everything to. She felt her stomach turn violently and she clutched it, she felt like she was going to be sick. But it subsided and she regained her posture soon enough. His eyes were fixed on her. She saw the slightest curve in his lips, she assumed this was his attempt at a friendly smile and returned the gesture, her smile being the more friendly of the two - as if that was a hard thing to accomplish - and saw a flicker in his eyes. She couldn't read the emotion properly but one thing she knew for certain was that it wasn't negativity. It seemed almost human.

In all her efforts to try and suss the boy out, she almost didn't realise Neville walk into the room - accompanied by Luna who, of course, took a seat at the Ravenclaw table - and an plateau of food appear on the table out of thin air. He sat down opposite her.

"Hey, Ginny," he said, giving her a warm smile.

"Oh, hello, Neville," she replied.

"How are you, I've barely seen you around today," he said, putting food onto his plate.

Through a mouthful of chicken she tried to reply but it came out as an incomprehensible jumble of grunts and groans so she waited until her food was gone to speak. "I'm okay, been catching up on some homework," she said, pulling a face of annoyance at the boy. "You?"

"Oh, I'm the same as always."

She admired his positivity. She didn't know how he managed to stay so cheerful at a time like this but she supposed somebody has to. She took a forkful of potato off of her plate and into her mouth. She nodded.

Before long, the room was full. Well, as full as it was ever going to get under the current circumstances. When Ginny finally accepted she wasn't able to take another bite of _anything_, she excused herself, gave a smile to Neville who decided he was going to stick around for a bit longer (which she translated to "I'm going to wait until I see Luna get up") and made her way out of the Great Hall.

She heard footsteps echo behind her but she continued walking. _It's probably coincidence they're coming this way_. But that thought was quickly disproved as they shouted, "Hey, wait up!"

She looked over her shoulder to see the speaker ten feet away attempting to keep up with her quick pace. "Oh, what do you want?"

He stopped walking, he didn't fancy getting too close to her in case she snapped at him. "Wanted to see how you're doing is all."

"Pfft," she scoffed. "You're Draco Malfoy, you don't just see how 'people are doing.'"

She couldn't help but notice a sadness in his eyes at this but he quickly composed himself. He shifted his weight evenly between his too legs instead of leaning against the wall and recovered his usual perfect posture.

"Hurtful," he smirked. This turning of his lips was much different than the one he showed in the Great Hall. That one had friendliness, this one wasn't a look Ginny was quick to trust. He turned his back to her. "You'd think you'd trust me after I sat around and listened to you moaning."

Her temper fired up like petrol poured onto a flame. "Hey, you didn't have to stick around you know! Nobody was **forcing** you to!"

Her hands curled into tight fists, her nails were digging into the palms of her hands and her eyes narrowed at the blonde.

He didn't respond with anything other than a somewhat villainous chuckle. He didn't turn around, didn't move; he stayed perfectly still as if he had become a statues. That is, of course, until he slowly manoeuvred himself to face her. He kept eye contact with her at all times. He had been told that his gaze often left people feeling intimidated and, boy, was he aware of it.

"Could it be that it was just a friendly gesture?"

He smiled.

Not a sweet smile, but a sickening one.

She uncurled her hands and looked at her palms. She didn't realise she was digging in so hard but she must have been because crescent shaped marks were now temporarily engraved into them.

"I-," Ginny began before she was interrupted.

"Oh, I know, how foolish of me to suggest such a thing. Malfoys are **never** friendly, huh, Weasley?"

His current demeanour was making Ginny tense. She became subdued, she didn't answer his question. She wasn't actually quite sure if she was supposed to answer his question as it was most likely rhetorical, twisting her own words and using them against her.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

He smirked at her.

_What are you doing? This isn't like you, Ginny. Snap out of it, you're a Weasley! You don't get intimidated by **stupid**_** Malfoys. **

But her thoughts didn't snap her out of it. It was almost as if she was under his spell and she wasn't enjoying it.

"See you around, Ginny," he said before making his way back to, well, she assumed the Slytherin common rooms because where else would a Slytherin go?

_He said Ginny? Since when does he say that? WHEN IN HECK DOES HE SAY GINNY?!_

Her inner thoughts raged as she ran up the stairs to the Gryffindor dorms. She didn't even know that he knew her name.


End file.
